UK hair and beauty salons enjoy “never before seen” growth

98% of salons plan to increase headcount over the next 12 months while 90% are optimistic about business prospects over the coming months

by Megan Dunsby

Updated: Jun 26, 2018 Published: Apr 6, 2016

There has never been a better time to start a beauty salon or hairdressing business in the UK, according to statistics from Sally Salon Services in its sixth annual Beautiful Britain report.

The data, compiled from surveys of over 4,000 business owners and consumers, indicated “major growth” of the industry with almost all salons and mobile haidressers (98%) surveyed planning to hire new staff over the next 12 months -adding an estimated 13,951 jobs to the UK economy.

Highlighting optimism for the beauty sector, 90% of salon owners said they had high levels of optimism for the year ahead with 76% having celebrated “a good year for business” in 2015.

The report says this renewed business confidence among hairdressers and salon owners is likely due to the fact that customers are having salon treatments more frequently than ever before; male spend is up 23% and female spend is up 19% (women now spend an average of £876 across 12 months).

The data also highlighted marked growth of the male grooming market in the UK and pointed to the influence of “male style icons” such as David Beckham and Mark Wright with men now making up a fifth of all salon customers – everyday male treatments like shaving have also risen by 59% in salons.

“Whilst treatment prices haven’t ever returned to the heights of 2012, when we released our first Beautiful Britain report, professionals are starting to reap the rewards of keeping their prices competitive, with customers visiting more frequently than ever.”

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